Chase Ultimate Rewards points are, without question, one of the most valuable credit card points out there. In our opinion, you can never have enough of them.
From booking flights and hotels through Chase Travel℠ to the ability to transfer points directly to airline and hotel partner programs, Chase offers almost unparalleled flexibility and value to travelers looking to use points to fly or stay somewhere free or nearly free. And despite an all-out arms race with other major banks like American Express, Capital One, and even Citi, Chase has continually evolved and made these points even more valuable over the years.
But let's back up to the basics. We'll walk you through everything you need to know about the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, including how to earn points, use them for maximum value, and all the little nuances you should be aware of along the way.
The Best Credit Cards to Earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
The easiest way to quickly earn a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points is from Chase credit cards. And whether you're looking for a personal or business credit card, there are plenty of options.
First and foremost, there is the *chase sapphire preferred*. In our opinion, it's the best card out there for beginners and one of the best all-around travel credit cards, period. You'll earn 3x points per dollar spent on dining, online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), and select streaming services, 2x points per dollar spent on travel, and 1x point per dollar spent on everything else.
Make sure to read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *chase sapphire preferred*
Next, there's the bigger sibling of the Chase Sapphire Preferred: The *chase sapphire reserve*.
The card launched back in 2016 and provides tons of travel-focused benefits like lounge access, an annual $300 travel credit, lounge access, travel insurance, and much more. But those benefits come at a cost – the annual fee on the card clocks in at $795.
Make sure to read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.
Annual Fee: $795
Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.
Then there are the no-annual-fee *chase freedom unlimited* and Chase Freedom Flex cards. While Chase markets both as cashback cards, they get infinitely more valuable if you pair them with either Chase Sapphire card. That's because you can transfer your cashback into Chase Ultimate Rewards – each cent of cashback gets you 1 point. And since both cards earn bonuses in a number of categories not covered by the Sapphire cards, it's a powerful tandem.
Just what you get with each Freedom Card varies, so make sure to read our post comparing them to help make the decision on which is right for you.
Annual Fee: $0
Learn more about the *chase freedom unlimited*
Learn more about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Chase also offers a suite of small business credit cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. And if you're a small business owner, they're an easy way to bolster your Chase balance.
To start, there's the *chase ink preferred*. You'll earn 3x points per dollar spent (up to $150,000, then 1x) on travel and select business categories like shipping and social media advertising each year.
Annual Fee: $95
Learn more about the *chase ink preferred*
Finally, there is the *Ink Cash* and the *Ink Unlimited*. And these cards function similarly to the Freedom Cards.
They technically earn cashback, but if you hold them with a card that earns Chase points, the cashback can be turned into points and used for travel. Both cards have no annual fee and can be another great way to boost your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance.
Annual Fee: $0
Learn more about the *chase ink unlimited*
Learn more about the *Ink Cash*.
Earn More Points with Shop Through Chase
Another easy way to keep earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points is by using the Shop Through Chase portal in your Ultimate Rewards account.
If you hold the *chase sapphire preferred*, *chase ink preferred*, or the *chase sapphire reserve*, you will have access to the Shop Through Chase portal. And that means you can earn bonus Chase points for shopping you are already doing at hundreds of online retailers.
All you need to do to start earning is log in to your Chase account and click through the Shop Through Chase portal on your way to the retailer of your choice.
By doing so, you can earn tons of additional points than if you were to just visit the retailer directly. There are literally hundreds of retailers available, and it is one of the easiest ways to earn additional points.
Make sure to read our full guide to Using the Shop Through Chase Portal.
The Basics of Using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Now that we've covered how you can earn Chase points, it's time to dive into exactly how you can use the points. You'll quickly see that there isn't a shortage of options.
But before we dive into more specific details on how to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points towards travel costs (or other expenses), let's back up even further. Among the hundreds of Chase point redemptions at your disposal, they all fall into four basic categories:
- You can book flights, hotels, car rentals, and more through Chase Travel℠
- You can transfer your points to airline and hotel partner programs
- You can use Chase's “Pay Yourself Back” feature to cover everyday expenses, though this option has gotten less useful since first launching
- Or you can redeem points for cash back, statement credits, or gift cards
Let's delve into each option.
How to Book Travel Through Chase Travel
In many ways, the simplest option to use your Chase points is by booking travel through Chase Travel.
Redeeming your points this way feels a lot like buying a flight (or hotel, rental car, or cruise) with cash – how many points you need to book travel is based upon the cash price. But with Chase, you get a bonus when using your points to book travel.
If you hold the *chase sapphire preferred* or the *chase ink preferred*, your Ultimate Rewards points will be worth 1.25 cents each when used through Chase Travel … or 1.5 cents each with the *chase sapphire reserve*.
But it's soon going away: Chase will officially sunset the increased redemptions on all travel through the portal as of Oct. 26, 2027. Until then, existing cardholders (before June 23, 2025) can continue redeeming points for enhanced value on all travel bookings – but only for points earned prior to Oct. 26, 2025.
With Chase Travel, there's no need to worry about blackout dates or award availability. Since Chase's travel portal is powered by Expedia, the pricing you find will generally match what you can find elsewhere – though many budget airline carriers will not be available through Chase.
This means you can book almost any flight, hotel, or other travel using Chase points and get a bonus when doing so. A stash of 80,000 points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card gets you $1,000 in free travel. That same sum of 80,000 points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve would be worth $1,200.
Here's an example. Using our favorite flight search engine Google Flights, I found a cheap flight from my home airport of Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Vail, Colorado (EGE) for $194 roundtrip.
But you can book this flight for “free” using your Chase points – and it gets even better. Simply log in to your Chase account, navigate to Chase Travel, and search for this exact same fare … and book it with points instead!
As you can see below, that same $194 fare can be booked for only 15,496 points if you hold either the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card.
And if you hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it will require even fewer points. Because these points are worth more, this same flight can be booked for only 12,880 points.
One of the best parts of booking flights through Chase Travel is that you will also earn airline miles and elite status credits when you actually take your flight.
That’s not the case for normal airline award redemptions you might book with American Airlines AAdvantage miles, Delta SkyMiles, or United MileagePlus miles. And unlike those redemptions, booking with Chase points this way makes your flight completely free. It covers any taxes and fees you’d otherwise have to pay using miles.
Make sure to read our full guide to booking through Chase Travel
Transferring Points to Chase Partners (& The Best Ones…)
Want to get even more value out of your Chase points? Maybe even fly business or first class?
Another great option for using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points is transferring them to 14 different hotel and airline transfer partners. This option allows you to turn your Chase points into United MileagePlus Miles. Or Southwest Rapid Rewards points. Or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. Or even World of Hyatt points.
You get the picture. No matter which transfer partner you choose, these transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio. So for every 1 Chase point you transfer, you'll end up with 1 airline mile or 1 hotel point. You can transfer points in minimum increments of 1,000.
Here's a full list of the Chase transfer partners. As you'll see, most transfers are instantaneous.
| Program | Type | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air France/KLM | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| British Airways | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Emirates | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Iberia Plus | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| JetBlue | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Singapore Air | Airline | 1:1 | 12-24 hours |
| Southwest Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| United Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| World of Hyatt | Hotel | 1:1 | Instant |
| IHG | Hotel | 1:1 | 1 day |
| Marriott Rewards | Hotel | 1:1 | 2 days |
A few of these transfer partners stand out more than others.
- Iberia offers one of the cheapest ways to get to Europe in either economy or business class. For just 32,000 miles, you can fly to Madrid (MAD) and back (almost any time of the year) in economy. Iberia’s business class starts at only 81,000 miles round trip, which isn't much more than what most airlines charge for economy. Iberia is also offers a solid way to book round-trip domestic flights on American Airlines.
- British Airways offers one of the best ways to get to Hawaii. While American and Alaska frequently charge 60,000 miles or more for these flights, you can fly from the West Coast to Hawaii for just 40,000 Avios roundtrip.
- Flying Blue is one of our favorite ways to save SkyMiles and book flights on Delta. Their partnership allows you to book Delta One suites for as low as 64,000 miles each way – when Delta often wants $5,000 or 200,000 SkyMiles or more for a trip to Europe in business class. The trouble is, finding the award space to actually book at these rates an be a real chore. Case in point: You can scan the full calendar from many of Delta's hubs and not see a single seat available.
- Singapore's KrisFlyer Miles program is a strong option because it is so easy to pile up points. American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Marriot Bonvoy all transfer to Singapore, too. Transferring miles to Singapore is one of the best ways to book the airline's award-winning business or first class seats.
- Hyatt is far and away one of the strongest Chase transfer partners. That’s largely because the hotel chains low award rates make it easy to get an outsized value on amazing hotels worldwide.
From tons of free flights to business class redemptions, read up on some of our favorite ways to spend Chase points.
But there's one important principle to keep in mind: These transfers are a one-way street. Once you make a transfer to an airline or a hotel program, you cannot send them back to your Chase account. So make 100% sure you have a plan to use those points before you initiate any transfers.
Want to know more? Check out our post walking through how to transfer Chase points to hotel and airline partners.
Cover Everyday Purchases Using Pay Yourself Back
Another great option for using your Chase Ultimate Rewards is a fairly new benefit: It's called Pay Yourself Back.
Through June 30, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem points at grocery store, pet store, veterinary services, gas stations, and on select charitable donations.
Here's the kicker: When you do so, your points are worth more than one cent each. Sapphire Reserve cardholders can currently get 1.25 cents per point when redeeming for purchases at grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart), pet stores, veterinary services and gas stations. Redeeming points for charity is an even better deal at a rate of 1.5 cents per point.
Chase Sapphire Preferred, Ink, and Freedom cardholders can also use their points at a rate of 1.25 cents each to offset charitable donations through June 30.
To use the benefit, all you need to do is make a purchase at a store in one of the designated categories. Once that purchase posts to your credit card account, you can log in and choose to cover it with your Ultimate Rewards points. You will have 90 days from the day the charge hits your statement to remove it with Chase points.
Make sure to watch our YouTube video below to learn more about this feature, and read our full guide to taking advantage of this benefit.
Redeem Points for Cash, Statement Credits, or Gift Cards
Finally, you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for cash back or a statement credit, gift cards from over 175 different retailers, or connect your account to Amazon and use them to pay for Amazon purchases.
When you are redeeming Chase points for gift cards, they will typically be worth 1 cent each. That means a $25 store gift card would cost you 2,500 points. From time to time, you may see discounts on gift cards from certain stores.
The same goes for requesting cash back: Your points will be worth 1 cent each. For example, you could redeem 10,000 points for $100 in cash directly deposited to your bank account or applied as a statement credit to your card.
But if you're considering cash back, it might be a good idea to first look into the Pay Yourself Back feature discussed above. If you've made (or plan to make) a purchase in any of those categories, your points will be worth more.
Lastly, you can connect your Chase Ultimate Rewards account to Amazon and use your points for purchases. But this is a very poor value as your points will only be worth 0.8 cents each. That means a $100 purchase on Amazon would cost 12,500 Chase points.
In this case, you'd be better off redeeming 10,000 points for $100 cash. Or if you've got the Sapphire Reserve, you could buy an Amazon gift card at a grocery store and then use the Pay Yourself Back feature to remove the charge from your statement. A $100 Amazon gift card would cost you just 8,000 points.
Do Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Expire?
As long as you have a credit card open that earns Chase points, your points will never expire. But if you close your card account and still have a balance of points, they will be forfeited and you will not be able to use them.
However, there are a few ways around this if you decide to close a Chase card.
- You can transfer your points to one of Chase's transfer partners. Once those points arrive in your account with any of the hotel or airline options, they are yours to keep – at least according to that airline or hotel's expiration policy.
- Instead of closing your card, you can downgrade to a no annual fee card like the Chase Freedom Flex or the Chase Freedom Unlimited. By doing this, your points would be converted to cashback, but you would not lose them altogether.
- If you have another member of your household who has a Chase account, you can transfer your points to their account before you close your card (keep reading for more).
Make sure to read our guide on what happens to your credit card points if you close a card, and watch our YouTube video explaining all the things to consider before you close a card.
Transferring Chase Points to Different Accounts
Chase Ultimate Rewards are arguably the best credit card points program for traveling families. That’s because as long as you share the same billing address with another cardholder, Chase allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points between two accounts.
This means spouses, partners, and even roommates can earn a sign-up bonus on the same card, then pool those bonus points together under one account. So as long as you have the financial responsibility to have multiple credit cards, you can double your impact and earn twice as many points.
If you've got multiple cards earning Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can easily combine them into a single pool online.
Make sure to read our guide on How to Transfer Chase points between accounts.
Bottom Line
Chase Ultimate Rewards are some of the best points out there to help you travel more for less.
They are relatively easy to earn through spending and sign-up bonus offers – and went it comes to redeeming them, you'll have hundreds of options. The flexibility they provide means you've got more options and better value.
